Anyway, even though I'm excited about how tech might help me improve my teaching, I'm also spending a significant amount of time diving into the Alberta Program of Studies for Spanish Language & Culture, as well as the Guides to Implementation, and seeing how I can better align what I'm doing, as well as better inform students and families of what the program is all about. I'd like to make the outcomes more explicit and understandable for all of us. I had also taken a lot of notes this last semester on issues I ran into with lack of understanding, misunderstanding, and lack of retention, and wanted to improve on my instructional strategies. One book that got strong reviews on Amazon is Emily Spinelli's English Grammar for Students of Spanish, with a number of people recommending this as a teaching resource. I biked up to the U of C this afternoon to pick up a few other resources I wanted to check out and saw her book in the mix, so I picked it up as well. This thing I going to be the backbone for any vocab and grammar I introduce. Lo amo y se lo recomiendo mucho.
I'm in the middle of preparing for what I hope will be a much better year of teaching junior and senior high Spanish. My plan is to use Google Sites and Google Classroom together as the main UI for my students, considering that we're rolling out a BYOD (Bring-Your-Own-Device) program this fall and therefore I can rely on students to have access to online content. This will enable me to present audio, visual, and print resources in an organized and always-accessible manner and will hopefully enhance learning and increase motivation. When I return in the fall, I'll also have access to a new projector, which will allow me to present such resources in the classroom more effectively, and to make the experience more immersive and interactive. I don't know what my classroom situation will be, other than that I most likely will be working out of multiple classrooms, but I hope that having the same projector setup in each room and the promise of working wirelessly will make any transitions relatively quick and painless. Goodness knows I end up spending the first part of each class attempting to put out fires.
Anyway, even though I'm excited about how tech might help me improve my teaching, I'm also spending a significant amount of time diving into the Alberta Program of Studies for Spanish Language & Culture, as well as the Guides to Implementation, and seeing how I can better align what I'm doing, as well as better inform students and families of what the program is all about. I'd like to make the outcomes more explicit and understandable for all of us. I had also taken a lot of notes this last semester on issues I ran into with lack of understanding, misunderstanding, and lack of retention, and wanted to improve on my instructional strategies. One book that got strong reviews on Amazon is Emily Spinelli's English Grammar for Students of Spanish, with a number of people recommending this as a teaching resource. I biked up to the U of C this afternoon to pick up a few other resources I wanted to check out and saw her book in the mix, so I picked it up as well. This thing I going to be the backbone for any vocab and grammar I introduce. Lo amo y se lo recomiendo mucho.
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A colleague who's been teaching for many years found this video the other day and thought it was the best thing she'd ever encountered for teaching thesis-writing. It would likely be useful for anyone teaching English Language Arts from grade 9-12. Check it out!
I just pre-ordered a copy of Nick Sousanis' comics dissertation, Unflattening. I didn't even know this book existed until: 1. I decided to write an influential prof of mine with whom I hadn't spoken in 7 years. 2. We met for a visit and I mentioned how Scott McCloud's Understanding Comics and Making Comics (which I read last summer) opened my eyes to the world in a new way, and prompted me to consider implications for my personal work as a writer/artist, as well as for teaching. 3. She alerted me to Sousanis' upcoming talk at the U of C, which I regrettably have to miss. For those who are interested, it's 9 April @ 9:30am in Soc Sci 1114. The fact that the book is highly praised by McCloud, and that Sousanis' background is in education, pretty much guarantees that this will be an epic read for me. So pumped! For any modern languages teachers out there (or any teachers looking to use an online study tool for their classes), Quizlet is an excellent tool. It:
If you click this link, you'll get a 20% discount on a teacher account: https://quizlet.com/upgrade?referrer=Carly_Friesen. I upgraded to a teacher account to use the tool for ongoing assessment of my students and to eliminate ads. Basic (free) features:
The perks of a teacher account: I attended an absolutely fabulous information session last night regarding how to use the Online Reference Centre for grades 7-12. Gaining a better understanding of all of the features of the ORC and the databases therein has made me completely reconsider how to go about unit and lesson planning, as well as instructing my students in research-based writing. The ORC is a HUGE time-saver for both students and teachers, and a HUGE cost-saver for schools and individual departments. An orientation to the resources should be part of new teacher on-boarding and/or PD at every school in Alberta. Bottom line: teachers and students should make the ORC, rather than Google, their first stop when looking for information. Why? ORC resources:
As an English teacher, I wanted to highlight two fantastic resources:
Brian Sztabnik's article "The 8 Minutes That Matter Most" has a number of excellent strategies for beginning and ending a class. I especially like that he pulled from Wiggins & McTighe, as I want these activities to be effective forms of self-, peer- or teacher assessment where possible. This is an area in which I was a bit inconsistent and which I want to be more intentional about planning.
I wanted to take a moment to reflect upon my values as a person and how I want to channel those into longer term goals in my teaching profession.
This was what happened to me yesterday, listening to my students' autobiographical poems. Un. Be. Lie. Va. Ble!!!!!!! I would listen to them over and over again. So honest, so raw, so gripping, so musical, so deep. It was an absolute treasure.
To top that off, one of them came by at the noon hour, and had this (roughly) to say: "Ms. Friesen, you know how you asked us on the first day what we wanted to do when we grow up and I told you 'A lawyer'? Well, I've made my decision now. I want to be a human rights lawyer. Specifically, I want to focus on women's rights. It's terrible that there is still so much domestic abuse and pay inequality and things like that. Some people say that feminists just hate men, but it's really about gender equality, and that's what I want in the world." Whaaaat?! Yeah. That just happened. I told her I she would have the chance to explore issues with gender and power through the texts we study, as well as the connection between culture and communications. Just one reason why teaching English is so baller. One of the things that breaks my heart is knowing that my students deal with varying degrees of anxiety for a variety of reasons, some of whom have been formally diagnosed and are receiving treatment or therapy. My PSI teacher (grade 4) dealt with restless, boisterous, or distracting/distracted students by having them go for a walk through the hallway, touching 50-odd lockers, complimenting someone, and then returning to class. I really liked this idea and explained to my students on day one that, if they were feeling anxious or simply needed a break, that they should simply let me know that they're "taking a walk" and to do a lap around the floor and come back to class. On Wednesday, my 20-2 students were exhibiting their self-portraits for our photography/visual literacy unit, and one of my students, whom I'm particularly concerned about, slipped out of the room without my noticing. I told the students I needed to look for their classmate, and asked a colleague (my mentor teacher, actually, who was prepping in another room) to supervise while I tried to track the student down. While I was frantically searching, the student returned to the room and explained to me later that s/he had just needed a break from the stressful environment, and also apologized for not letting me know (my colleague had had a talk with the student upon his/her return). Frankly, I was delighted and relieved that this student came back to class of his/her own volition. Because attendance tends to be an issue in the -2 classes (often due to family/life situations), one of my primary goals is to make my class a place where the kids want to be. The class community still feels a bit disjointed to me, but group activities and performances are one way we seem to be getting closer.
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